Lubomir Visnovsky To Challenge Trade To New York Islanders On Tuesday

New York Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky will be meeting in front of an arbitrator on Tuesday to challenge the June 22 trade that was executed between the Islanders and his former team, the Anaheim Ducks.

According to Visnovsky and his representation, the 36-year-old defenseman was never consulted prior to the trade, which they are arguing violates the no-trade clause in his contract.

Via Newsday:

"...this has really nothing to do with the Islanders. For Lubo, this is about establishing what's right and whether a team has the right to move him in the manner that they did."

Where the situation becomes complicated is the fact that Visnovsky has been traded several times since signing his current contract that contains the NTC. What makes it even more perplexing is that the team that originally negotiated the deal, the Los Angeles Kings, traded him to the Edmonton Oilers in 2008 one day prior to when the clause was supposed to kick in.

After playing for the Oilers for two seasons, the club traded him back to Southern California, this time to the Ducks. This raises the question of whether Edmonton asked Visnovsky if they could trade him; or better yet, whether he still had a NTC that required him to be asked.

Via Light House Hockey:

• Did the Oilers agree to honor his NTC when they took him on? (The CBA bizarrely says an acquiring team doesn't have to honor the clause if it hasn't kicked in yet.)
• If so, did he then waive it to accept the trade to the Ducks? And if that, then does that affect whether the clause still applies to future trades?

The arbitrator will need to determine these variables and rule whether the trade was a legal move. If he rules that it was illegal, the trade will be voided. From there it's any one's guess as to what will happen.